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A Farm Office

This was the stinky room in the house. Don’t get me wrong, the whole house reeked, but this one was tops. I suspect it had been used as the potty for the cats and dogs that took up residency as the smell of urine overpowered the room and the floor was clearly saturated with the slightly oily residue urine leaves behind. I used about a gallon of one of those pet enzyme odor eliminators, sprayed over the course of a few weeks while I was working upstairs, and washed the floors a few hundred times with bleach, but it wasn’t until I primed the space that the odors completely disappeared.

In the 80s remodel, owners moved the staircase and changed the shape of it. With evidence from original door jams that could be seen on the floors, I was able to see how the original staircase would have entered from the kitchen through a doorway. It would have been a steep incline up to the original two bedrooms. This would have allowed for the lofted bedroom to be bigger, perhaps even having a closet. The new staircase is ample with a landing allowing for the upstairs to have a large, open feel. Overall, it was a good design move for the house.

The office is now in the room off the living room that is partially under the staircase. We boxed in the area under the landing in order to accommodate a daybed, but this space could have been used for a small closet, drawer storage or left open. Since it smelled as if the cat boxes were stored there, I was happy to prime and seal it up. There is no odor anymore!

The previous owner never finished the walls the new walls andthe original plaster wall was covered in wallpaper that easily peeled off with warm water and a scraper as the plaster had been only roughly finished. We put up new sheetrock and I skim-coated the plaster to finish. I am so happy with the results. It’s a beautiful, sun-filled room!

Before

After

I am so thrilled with the way the daybed turned out! As you have seen, our interior design strategy has been to create a cottage look by painting everything. I like the clean yet unfussy nature of this concept – not to mention, the economic benefits! We have been able to build custom pieces and with hole-filler, caulk and paint, make everything look really fresh. All the furniture pieces in the office were built with pine and a bit of recycled moulding allowing me a budget for the final touches!

Our second floor bathroom is en suite, so anyone staying in the other two bedrooms must walk through the master to access it. While this is fine for family, friends and other guests may feel a little awkward with that arrangement, so part of my decision to add a day bed to the office was to add a space for guests that would allow them their own bathroom. The bed will have a roll-out lower bed so two can stay comfortably in that room.